Monday, 30 May 2016

4 dead in Memorial Day weekend shootings in Chicago

At least four people were left dead and dozens wounded following gun violence overMemorial Day weekend in Chicago.

Thirteen people were hurt as of early Monday. One person was killed and 24 wounded by Sunday morning and three people were killed and 12 injured Friday through Saturday. The majority of the holiday weekend violence took place on the West Side, theChicago Tribune reported.

Among the youngest victims, a 15-year-old girl was shot and killed while riding in a car with a gang member on Lake Shore Drive, NBC News reported.

First Deputy Superintendent John Escalante said the police department planned to increase patrols in certain areas on Monday.

“As we’ve said before, it’s about 1,500 people that are driving the violence,” Escalente said, according to NBC. “Those are the people we’re trying to concentrate on.”

The Harrison District of the West Side is one of the city's most violent and has more police officers assigned to it than almost any other district in the city.

Last year, 12 people were killed and 44 injured over Memorial Day weekend, according to the Tribune.

Murders in the nation's third-largest city are up about 72%, while shootings have surged more than 88% in the first three months of 2016 compared with the same period last year, according to data released in April by the Chicago Police Department.

Police said the disturbing rise in violence is driven by gangs and mostly contained to a handful of pockets on the city's South and West Sides.

The Chicago Police Department reported 468 murders in 2015, a 12.5% increase from the year before. There were 2,900 shootings in 2015, 13% more than the year before, according to department records.